My Confessions
by Nightcrawlerlover
Summary: AU oneshot. A Degrassi-style fairy tale. When Princess Paige is raped, she tells Lord Rick Murray about what happened at the request of Duchess Hazel and Rick's girlfriend Lady Terri. Rated T for safety.


**Hey there, my fellow readers, writers and reviewers! Here's a brand-new Degrassi oneshot I cooked up. **

**You see, I've always wondered why Paige never told Terri about her rape, and then Terri never passed that on to Rick, or why Paige never got the courage to tell both Terri and Rick, or just Rick, like when she told him she thought the prank with the yellow paint and white feathers was sickening in part 2 of Time Stands Still. I wish she also told him about her rape (as Paige was fifteen when she was raped in season 2, and in season 4 she was seventeen), and Rick would've listened. So I decided to make this oneshot. Hope you like it! **

**This is an AU, and it's a fantasy (meaning a fairy tale, since I love those). It takes place during season 4. Terri hasn't been put into a coma; instead she's off at modeling school. Rick is a nice guy. Paige has broken up with Spinner. And the rape, which takes place in season 2 in the show, occurs in season 4 instead, before this oneshot. **

**Disclaimer: The geniuses at The N and CTV own Degrassi. I own the songfics, oneshots, stories and poems. **

**"****My Confessions" **

Once upon a time there was a Lord of a great manor. His name was Richard "Rick" Murray. At the moment, he was smiling to himself as he walked up the steps and into Castle Degrassi. He had received a nice email from his girlfriend Lady Terri on his cell phone.

The email said,

"_As you know, my friend Paige has recently suffered a traumatic experience. It would mean a lot to me if you could ask her about it, as she told me first. Good luck, Rick!_

_Love, Terri"_.

"Rick! Hey, Rick!"

He looked up and smiled. It was Hazel Aden, Duchess of Degrassi and one of Terri's friends. She never spoke sharply, rarely let an insult come from her mouth, and was very sweet.

But his smile soon changed into a look of concern when he caught sight of the pained expression on her face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Rick," she managed to say between quiet sobs, "come with me."

She gently grasped his arm and pulled him along with her.

Rick was confused. Did something happen to someone he was friends with? Something bad?

He looked at Hazel for answers as he reached into his pocket and offered her a handkerchief emblazoned with the Murray coat of arms. She took it and wiped away her tears. Being the gentleman kind of Lord, Rick didn't like to see women cry. He wanted to comfort them.

"Rick, it's Paige. She hasn't been herself lately."

Rick blinked. "Something happened to Princess Paige?"

"Well, you probably heard the rumors going around, right, Rick?"

Rick nodded in agreement. He _had_ heard the rumors going around.

"_Did you hear? That Paige – she asked for it, the little whore!" _

"_Ooh, I bet she dressed and danced provocatively."_

"_I saw her at the party – she was all over this guy from Bardell High."_

Hearing those rumors might've made someone else all angry, bitter and wanting to make the gossipers stop. For Rick, they just fueled his curiosity and made him want to know more.

Soon they were at the library. As they entered, Rick looked around for the familiar blond hair and soon spotted it. They then made their way to the table where Princess Paige was sitting.

Princess Paige was quite something at Castle Degrassi. With her looks and her charm, the boys would go after her. Of course, she wasn't very mean at all, unlike her rival, Princess Heather Sinclair. Instead she was very nice, kind and generous. However, those three qualities soon got her into a situation that was beyond her control.

Rick's concern grew even bigger as he sat down, reached out and put an arm around Paige. Instead of pulling away, Paige looked up, tears running down her face and smearing her make-up, and simply gently pulled him closer. Rick reached up and wiped away her tears with the pad of his thumb, getting some mascara on it in the process.

"Paige?" asked Hazel. "Rick's here. I asked him to come with me to comfort you, just like you asked."

**Paige's POV**

Well, of course I wanted Rick to comfort me. But every time I remembered what had happened to me, I felt all mixed up. I felt dirty. Used. Like no boy would ever want me or even want to be near me. Internally I was struggling with telling my best friend Terri's boyfriend Rick about how I was raped by Dean at the party that Saturday night.

I wanted to tell him everything, but mostly just the rape. So I took a deep breath, and, keeping eye contact, began...

**Flashback**

"_What are you doing? I don't think so." _

_I tried to get up, but Dean had pushed me down. His dark eyes, gleaming in the moonlight coming through the bedroom window, were full of an evil essence I couldn't put a name to._

_He then forcefully pulled off my pink silk dress, and the freezing air hit my skin. Then he put a finger inside my womanhood, and then another. Finally, after pulling his exploring fingers out and tasting my essence on them, he then pulled his jeans and boxers off and put on the condom he had pulled out of his pocket. _

_I froze. I knew what was coming._

_I closed my eyes, hoping to block all of it – the pain – as Dean then thrust himself into me. As he kept going, thrusting in and out of me – I tried to focus on positive stuff. Chatting with Lady Terri and Lord Rick. Being stuck on a poem until Rick gave me a massage that one day at Terri's house, while Terri just looked on, smiling (she had told me that jealousy wasn't a problem for her). _

_Finally I opened my eyes, and noticed the room was empty. Dean had left. However, I lay there for quite a while. _

**End of Flashback**

"And that's what happened," I finished. I then looked at Rick's face. He seemed expressionless. Apparently he was taking all of what I had told him in, and thinking it over. He often did that sometimes with Terri too, and she didn't mind that at all.

**Rick's POV**

I looked at Paige, my face expressionless. _How dare that bastard do something like that?!_ He hurt my girlfriend's best friend. He did something he had no right to do. I believed that Paige was innocent. She didn't deserve to be raped at all. And of course, being a gentleman I fiercely believed that ladies have rights, and they don't deserve to have bad things happen to them, either.

"Dean," I hissed, my head turned to the side, so that only Hazel and Paige could hear me. "That.. that..**psycho**! How dare he hurt you, my lady?" As I said those words I turned to Paige upon feeling her fingers on my cheek.

"Rick, it's my fault," she said. "I led him on, I behaved like a total-"

"Paige, listen to me," I interrupted her, gently taking her hand in my own. "Being raped was **not **your fault. It never is, it never was, and it never will be."

Paige looked at me. "Really? You believe that the rape wasn't my fault?"

I nodded, then said,

"With understanding comes acceptance. Acceptance is the first step to recovering from a traumatic event – in this case, your rape.

"It's not your fault."

Paige nodded, and then repeated,

"It's not my fault. Being raped was not my fault." She looked at me, and I smiled.

"Good," I grinned, then looked up as my friend Sir Jimmy Brooks, a rich knight and Duchess Hazel's boyfriend, walked up to us. Paige noticed and then looked at me, grinning as though to say,

"You can tell him, Rick. You two are best friends."

I got the message right away.

"Rick, my friend, how's it going?" he grinned as he sat down at the table with us. Jimmy was a pretty easy-going guy, as well as laid-back, but if someone pushed him too far, he could really explode.

"All is certainly not well," I replied. "Her Royal Highness here has been raped."

Jimmy was surprised. "Oh, my. Who is it? Who is the cretin that would have the nerve to take advantage of our Princess?" His tone transfigured into an angry one as he spoke, but he kept his voice in a whisper.

Paige looked up at him. "It was Dean Walton," she said.

"Dean Walton? The soccer player from Bardell?" replied Jimmy.

Paige nodded.

Then I spoke up. "Paige," I said after we stood up and pushed in our chairs, "let's go to Ms. Suave. I've talked with her, and she's very nice."

Ms. Suave was our guidance counselor at Castle Degrassi. I had met with her a few times, and she was very sweet. I often viewed her as a godmother figure to all the princesses and members of royalty that would often come to her office whenever they had a problem, needed help, or just wanted to get some advice from her. And as she once told me,

"I feel like I'm the fairy godmother, Rick. Except I don't have a magic wand or magic dust to sprinkle around and make everything all better. But I love my job."

I gave Paige an encouraging smile, and she grinned back.

"That sounds like a good idea, Rick," she agreed.

When we found ourselves outside Ms. Suave's office, Paige held back a little; she held onto my hand for support.

"The rumors that have been going around about me...what am I going to do about them?" she asked me.

I patted her hair encouragingly. "I'll be there for you; hold your head high, and don't let the rumors get to you."

She nodded as she then gently let go of my hand. "Well, here goes nothing."

Then we walked into Ms. Suave's office. She looked up and smiled upon seeing me.

"Ah, Rick, it's good to see you," she said.

I smiled as I took her hand and placed a gentlemanly kiss on the back of it, as I know all Lords are supposed to do with a Lady. After all, it shows respect, and a part of respect is sometimes leaving a decision up to a woman, which Terri encouraged me to do. She even complimented me on it, and I was so thankful.

My father was a Lord before me, as his father was before him. My mother was a Lady, as her mother was before her, and all three of us love each other deeply. Often my father would beam with pride whenever he saw me treat a Lady with respect, comfort and encourage me whenever I would make a mistake, telling me,

"Rick, it's OK to make mistakes. That's how you learn."

Then he would give me a big smile, and I would feel a whole lot better.

I then turned to Paige. "It's all right, Paige," I said, giving her a smile of encouragement, which she caught, and she smiled back.

"OK, here goes," said Paige as she took a deep breath and began her story.

When she finished, Ms. Suave rose from her desk, crossed the room and, tears in her own eyes, gave Paige a big hug.

"I'm so sorry you had to go through this, Paige," she said as she released her.

Paige nodded. "I know; it was." She then turned to me and smiled tearfully. "Thank you, Lord Rick, for helping and listening to me when I needed it."

I smiled proudly. With my help Paige was able to pluck up the courage to confess that she had been raped.

When Terri heard about how I helped Paige, she smiled at me and said,

"Thanks, Rick. You're such a gentleman."

I know I am, Terri, my lady. I know I am.

**Well, I hope you like this! If it's that good, I might cook up a new Degrassi oneshot. This is dedicated to my friends jayhogartismyangel****, ****Just Like Coffee and Cream****, ****Broadway-n-Bubbles**** (who wrote this amazing Degrassi story called "Psycho". Just so you know, I like this part: ‛"Now, would you like to be a good little Spirit and cooperate, or should I let him have a go?" Dean asked holding the phone cord, and pointing at Rick standing outside the door, waiting."' That part's so...inspiring!), E.S. Everest****, ****Jemmasgiirl ****and ****JuseaPeterson****. You guys are the best friends I could ever ask for! **

**~Nightcrawlerlover**


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